Method of forming handle bar and the like



c. J. BARRY 2,216,833

METHOD 0F FORHING HANDLE BAR AND THE LIKE Oct. 8, 1940.

Filed Aug; 17, 1938 Patented Oct.- 8, 1940 UNITED STATES l METHOD FFORMING HANDLE BAR AND THE LIKE l Cornelius J. Barry, Chicago, Ill.

Application August 17, 1938, Serial No. 225,459

2 Claims.

This invention relatesto a handle bar or the like and the method offorming the same, and more particularly the method of forming anenlarged central portion of the tube or bar adapted 5 to be engaged bythe clamp of the steering post.

An object of the invention is to provide simple and effective means forforming a tube with an enlarged central portion adapted to be clamped tothe steering post of a bicycle, etc. A further object is to provide atube having a portion thereof expanded, the expanded portion beingequipped with a metal reinforcement received within the expanded area. Afurther objeotis to provide a simple and inexpensive method whereby atube having a portion thereof of greater diameter than the remainder andadapted to receive the clamp of a steering post or other device, may beformed very quickly without requiring swaging of the bar, etc. Otherobjects and advantages will appear as thespeciflcation proceeds.

The invention is illustrated, in a preferred embodiment, by theaccompanying'drawing, in which- Figure lis a plan view of a tube adaptedfor use as a handle bar or for other uses, the central portion of thetube being broken away and an insert shown therein in section; Fig. 2, aplan view of the adjacent ends of a stop bar and an expander baremployed in expanding the tube; Fig. 3, a sectional view of the centralportion of the tube after the same has been expanded; Fig. 4, a brokenplan view of the central portion of the tube showing the knurlingproduced by a' die in the expanding operation; and `Eig. 5, an end viewof a die employed in the forming of the knurling or ribbing of the tube.

Heretofore, it has been the practice to form handle bars generally bytwo methods. A central enlarged portion of the handle bar is requiredfor receiving the clamp of the steering post. This enlarged portion maybe formed by slipping a small section of tubing over the handle bartubing and braising the same in place. A'

more recent and popular method has been that of using an oversized barfor the handle bar and then reducing the diameter o! the entire barexcept for the central portion which forms the enlargement. The iirstmethod is very unsatisfactory because of the ugly or unattractiveappearance of the enlargement. The second method produces an attractivebar; however, the operation is quite expensive. A special type of metalmust be employed because of the effect of the swaging upon the metal,and the swaging operation itself, since it extends over the entire tubeexcept for the small central portion, involves considerable expense.

I have found that an attractive handle can be i produced which issubstantially identical inap- 5 pearance with that produced by swagingwhile at the Sametime eliminating the special metal cost and the veryexpensive operation of swaging. At the same time, I use less metalbecause the tube employed is of small diameter.

In the swaging operation described above, the practice is to employ aone-inch diameter tube and swage all except the middle portion down to adiameter of seven-eighths of an inch. In my process, I start with aseven-eighths inch tube of ordinary suitable handle barmetal, the tubebeing indicated in the drawing by the numeral IIJ. I insert into themiddle o! the tube, or at such point as the enlargement is desired, ametal tube II. One end of the insert tube Il is preferably tapered, fromthe inside outwardly, as indicated by the numeral I2. After insertingthe tube to the proper point, I place a solid bar I3 through the tube onthe opposite side so as to prevent further movement of the insert II inthat direction. I then force the expander tool I4, which may be a solidbar provided with a tapered end I5, into the other end of the tube II.The end of the bar I4 entersthe ared end l2 of insert tube II and underhigh pressure, 30 such as, for example, hydraulic pressure, is extendedforwardly so as to expand the inner tube outwardly to a point that thediameter thereof is equal to the diameter of the tube I0. This increasesthe outside diameter of the central portion of the tube to a one inchdiameter. Thus,` an enlarged portion I6 suitable for being received inthe clamp of the steering post, is provided.

It will be observed that the insert II is locked in reinforced conditionwithin the enlargement I6 40 because the forward end portion I1 of theinsert I I is left unexpanded while the rear end portion I8, which wasformerly tapered, is under the pressure tapered in the oppositedirection so as to fit snugly within the incline of the enlargement.

'I'he regular practice is to provide the enlargement I6 with knurlingI9. I have found that the knurling can be accomplished in the singleoperation already described by providing on the outside of the tubeadjacent the portion to be enlarged, a pair of dies 20 and 2| providingbetween them a cylindrical opening 22 equipped with the usual die ribs(not shown). The ribs in the expanding operation cut into the metal andform the knurling I9.

It will be observed that in the foregoing method, I have accomplished ina single operation, and at very slight expense, a handle bar equippedwith an enlargement and in which there is no\ visible added member. thusproducing a product which has heretofore been produced only by the useof an oversized tube, a die operation for knurling and a swagingoperation covering the greater portion of the tube. At the'same time, Ihave produced a reinforcement for the expanded portion of the tube whichis locked in position and which protects the tube at the point where itis clamped to the steering post.

While I have described the method and invention in connection with ahandle bar, it will` be understood that the invention has broaderapplication. It may be employed with tubes of different types andemployed for different purposes for forming enlargements and withreinforcements about the enlarged areas.

Further, while I have described one speclc method of accomplishing theexpansion, it will be observed that a great many of the detalls may bemodiiied by those skilled in the art without departing from myinvention. Further, while I have set forth some details, it will beobserved that some of the detalls may be obviously omitted.

The foregoing detailed description has been given -for clearness oi'understanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understoodtherefrom, but the appended claims should be construed as broadly aspermissible in view of the prior art.

I claim:

1. In a method for expanding a tube at an intermediate point andreinforcing the same where expanded, said tube being of uniform innerand outer diameters prior to expansion, the steps of inserting a smallpiece of tube Within said outer tube, said inner tube having an outsidediameter throughout substantially equal to the inside diameter of saidouter tube, to the point where the inner tube to expand the same and theadja-` cent portion of said outer tube and to provide an inward taper onsaid end portion of said inner tube, locking the same againstlongitudinal movement within the expanded outer tube.

2. In a method for expanding the central portion oi' a handle bar tubeand reinforcing the same where expanded, said tube being of uniforminner and `outer diameters prior to expansion, the steps of inserting asmall piece of tube with `in said outer tube to the central portionthereof,

said inner tube having an outside diameter throughout substantiallyequal to the inside diameter of said outer tube and said inner tubehaving one end portion tapered outwardly from the inner surface thereofwith a long inclination, inserting a stop member through the oppositeend of said outer tube to engage the untapered end of said inner tubeand prevent further movement thereof longitudinally, and then forcing acylindrical tool provided with a forward inclined portion adapted toengage the tapered portion of said inner tube, said tool having anoutside diameter substantially equal to the inside diameter of saidouter tube, into engagement with the tapered end portion of said innertube and through the greater part of said inner tube to expand the sameand the adjacent portion of said outer tube and to provide an inwardtaper on said end portion of said inner tube, locking the same againstlongitudinal movement within the expanded outer tube.

CORNELIUS J BARRY.

